Recruitment tests: the complete guide to assess your candidates

Recruitment tests play a crucial role in candidate assessment, ensuring a choice based on objective data. This guide explores the types of exams available, their advantages, and how to integrate them into your recruitment process.

Why use recruitment tests?

This recruitment method, also known as an Assessment Center, allows for the evaluation of candidates' skills, abilities, and personality traits. By providing an objective assessment, it enables recruiters to reduce hiring mistakes and better meet the needs of the open position. These assessments also improve the candidate experience and streamline the recruitment process. Many companies use them to save time in their decision-making while ensuring a fair evaluation.

For example, a recruitment agency might include psychometric tests in its process to identify candidates suited to demanding positions. In the context of a large-scale recruitment drive, these tools allow for the rapid filtering of hundreds of applicants.

What types of recruitment tests exist?

What are the different types of tests?

Psychometric tests measure abilities such as logical reasoning, cognitive skills, and numerical aptitude. Personality tests analyze individual traits to assess their fit with the company culture. Finally, skills assessments validate the soft and hard skills required for the desired position. These tools are particularly useful in a variety of sectors, including technical fields, sales, and management roles.

List of top recruitment assessments

Among the most commonly used in an Assessment Center are:

• The MBTI test: Globally recognized, it helps identify candidates' personality traits based on preferences such as introversion or extroversion, logical thinking or intuition. For example, an MBTI profile oriented towards "thinking and judging" may be ideal for a job requiring analytical skills.
• The Big Five: This tool assesses five fundamental personality dimensions: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism, or OCEAN. Recruiters can use it for positions requiring strong leadership or a high degree of adaptability.
• Logical reasoning tests: Like Raven's Progressive Matrices, these multiple-choice questionnaires measure candidates' problem-solving and rapid thinking skills. They are particularly useful in sectors where data analysis and quick decision-making are essential.
• Professional simulations: A type of role-playing exercise, these immerse candidates in real-life scenarios related to their future job. For example, a candidate for a management position might be asked to manage a fictional team conflict to demonstrate their soft skills in problem-solving and communication.
• Memory and numerical reasoning tests: These assess specific cognitive abilities such as information retention or rapid problem-solving, suitable for technical or analytical positions.
• The lookalike test: It analyzes the personality traits and values ​​of the candidate, often used for roles where cultural alignment is crucial.

These tools offer a comprehensive view of candidates, allowing recruiters to take a balanced approach that considers both technical skills and soft skills. By combining different tests, it's possible to obtain reliable results and optimize your recruitment process, thus increasing your chances of hiring success.

How to assess candidates using tests?

When should this step be included in the recruitment process?

Recruitment tests should be integrated after an initial screening based on CVs and cover letters. They constitute a key step before the final face-to-face interview to validate skills and abilities. For example, in a recruitment process for a management position, logical reasoning tests can be used before a practical work simulation.

For a position requiring significant customer interaction, personality tests, such as the MBTI or the Big Five, can be used to determine if the candidate possesses suitable personality traits, such as extroversion and strong interpersonal skills. This allows for a quick assessment of whether the candidate's profile aligns with the company culture.

In technical environments, psychometric tests, such as numerical reasoning assessments, are often used to screen candidates before technical interviews. For example, a candidate for a financial analyst position might be given rapid calculation or data analysis tests to demonstrate their cognitive abilities.

Professional simulations are particularly useful for roles where soft skills are a priority, such as a project manager position. For example, a simulation exercise might involve developing a plan to solve a fictional team problem or managing a simulated crisis meeting.

A language test may be added to validate proficiency in a foreign language. Therefore, a written or oral English test could be decisive in selecting a candidate for a position requiring international interaction.

What about the candidate's consent regarding the personality test?

Candidate consent is essential to comply with the GDPR. It is crucial to inform them about the purpose of the tests, their duration, and how the data will be used. For example, a candidate must understand that psychometric tests are used to better assess their soft skills and suitability for the position, without negatively impacting their application.

How to choose a recruitment test?

What constitutes a “good” recruitment test?

A good recruitment test must be tailored to the position and the company's requirements. It must also have high predictive validity, meaning it should be able to predict the candidate's future performance. For example, a test like the PAPI can be ideal for assessing a candidate's personality and their ability to integrate into a specific environment.

What are the advantages of psychometric tests?

Psychometric tests provide a reliable way to assess cognitive abilities. They offer an objective analysis and help to fairly compare several candidates. For example, a logical reasoning test can be used for positions requiring strong analytical skills.

Centralize all your candidate tests on a single platform

With Marvin Recruiter, you can automate and centralize all your recruitment tests. Our digital platform simplifies data management and ensures an optimal candidate experience. Easily integrate psychometric tests, situational exercises, and much more. Discover our solutions for candidate pool management and conversion rate calculation as well.

Our tool also allows you to generate customized reports to analyze candidate performance. These reports include comparison charts and graphs to facilitate decision-making. Thanks to an intuitive interface, recruiters can quickly access all the data needed to select the best candidate.

FAQ: Your questions about recruitment tests

• What are the 7 stages of recruitment?

  The key steps are: defining needs, drafting and distributing the job posting, pre-screening CVs, initial interviews, assessment through tests, final interviews, and decision-making. Each step may include tools such as recruitment tests to ensure a structured process.

• How to prepare for recruitment tests?

  Candidates can prepare by practicing psychometric tests, reviewing their technical skills, or simulating professional situations. Understanding the job requirements and becoming familiar with tools like the MBTI test can also be beneficial.

• How does an assessment center work?

  An Assessment Center is a method that combines several tools, such as psychometric tests, situational exercises, and face-to-face interviews. It allows for the evaluation of candidates' skills and personality within a structured framework.

• What is the main objective of the assessment center?

  The goal is to provide an objective and comprehensive assessment of candidates' skills and personality traits. This allows recruiters to make informed decisions regarding open positions.

• How to succeed in an assessment center test?

  To succeed, it is crucial to prepare for psychotechnical tests, understand the expectations of professional simulations, and adopt a proactive attitude during face-to-face interviews.

• Assessment center: advantages and disadvantages

  The advantages include a comprehensive and objective assessment, but this can be costly and time-consuming. The disadvantages lie in the need for significant logistical preparation.

• Assessment center and URSSAF

  It is important that companies comply with regulations, including legal and social obligations, to avoid any problems with the URSSAF when organizing an assessment center.